'Unconscionable': Bookkeeper pleads no contest to embezzling $7M from nonprofit

A former bookkeeper pleaded no contest Wednesday to charges that she stole nearly $7 million from a nonprofit that serves the intellectually disabled. (Image: Hawaii News Now)

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) -

A former bookkeeper pleaded no contest Wednesday to charges that she stole nearly $7 million from a nonprofit that serves the intellectually disabled.

Lola Jean Amorin, 70, will serve a minimum of 20 years in jail for using a computer to embezzle money from her former employer Arc in Hawaii, in one of the largest white-collar crime cases in Hawaii.

"It's just unconscionable that she could go to work every day for 20 years and steal this amount of money from people who really could have benefited from the money," said deputy Prosecutor Chris Van Marter.

"She used money to purchase five homes, she used the money to fund lavish vacations, cars, expensive home renovations. She used the money to benefit family members."

Amorin pleaded no contest to theft, computer fraud, money laundering and tax fraud. Her husband, 72-year-old Albert Amorin, pleaded no contest to evading taxes on about $3 million that his wife stole from Arc.

The thefts amounted to about $50,000 a month and that affected the nonprofit's ability to serve its mission.

"Everyone of us has been affected by this. And we've gone through lots of emotions," said Lei Fountain, Arc's executive director.

ARC is seeking restitution but prosecutors said the nonprofit will probably recover about a quarter of the amount Amorin stole.